Terror of the Hydro-bots

Could this really be one of
New Jersey’s wonders?

While driving along Route 206 in South Jersey on the outskirts of the Pine Barrens, I was deliberating what possibilities might befit the final subject to round out my series on New Jersey’s ‘Seven Wonders.’ Suddenly, off the road I noticed a vision so incongruous I began to doubt my own sanity.

Two stick-like figures appeared to overlook the highway with a tubular pet at their feet. Just who was responsible for this superfluous display and what in the world of artificial intelligence did it all mean?

This pup won't give Boston
Dynamics any reason to worry

Well, aside from the fact that the three objects were assembled from water tanks and stand before Water Resources of New Jersey, a water softening business, little else seems to be known of them. While admittedly curious and unexpected, they wouldn’t exactly cause Philip K. Dick to blush and, frankly, I don’t quite see why they are as moderately famous as they are.

In any case, to compensate for my scarcity of ideas for a seventh wonder, I’ll give an honorable mention to these space-age tin woodsmen instead. Besides, their creative owner was decent enough to offer his services to any of my readers interested in commissioning him to adorn their front yards with his artwork.

What has everyone said to that? So far, all responses have been a resounding, “Tanks, but no tanks.”

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Christopher Robinson

Ivy Gothic

Source: gettyimages

Arguably one of the most inspiring features of Princeton University’s history, image and tradition remains its unique and eccentric architectural statements, evident in its buildings, landscapes and grounds.

Until the end of the 19th Century, the architecture of the school, then called The College of New Jersey, displayed little in the way of thematic consistency. Later, with new funding for remodeling came bold attempts at utilizing classic forms for the representation of wisdom and architectural unity in their imposing structures.

The first of these new buildings were Blair Hall and Little Hall, designed by a Philadelphia firm, Cope and Stewardson. They set into motion the gothic trend that continued with the construction of all subsequent buildings on Princeton’s 500-acre campus, including the Firestone Library.

Source: fineartamerica

Gargoyles, dragons and dinosaurs are some of the trademarks that haunt the hallowed walls and spires of Princeton in styles that are classified as that of modernism, rationalism and deconstructivism.

So next time you’re passing through Nassau Street, step in for a campus stroll and feast your eyes. The marvels within just might provide you with some classic inspiration.

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Christopher Robinson

Falls Without Flaws

Situated unexpectedly within one of New Jersey’s most urban and industrial settings, the Great Falls of the Passaic River or Paterson’s Great Falls or, more colloquially, the Paterson Falls are an historic and unique landmark to visit and appreciate.

Designated as a National Historic Landmark District, the Falls are 77 feet high, one of the largest in the nation and the second-largest east of the Mississippi.

Like the Delaware Water Gap, the Falls were the site of Dutch settlements in the 17th Century, in addition to those of the Leni Lenape Indians.

The engineering of canals from the Falls to power water mills in the town of Paterson was conceived and overseen by founding father and Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton.

Later a wooden dam was installed in the employment of a paper mill. Today it boasts a hydroelectric plant generating electricity from the Fall’s flowing waters. As a testament to such aesthetic and technical marvels, over a hundred-thousand tourists visit the Great Falls of Paterson every year.

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Christopher Robinson

Truly 'Gap-tivating'

Between New Jersey and Pennsylvania one will find 70,000 acres of valley along the Delaware River between the low mountains of the Appalachians that attract hikers, boaters, rock climbers, rafters and campers among many others.

Along the Appalachian Trail lies the Delaware Water Gap, in essence, the place where the Delaware cuts between the Blue Mountains of Pennsylvania and the Kittatinny Ridge of New Jersey.

The resulting topography includes lakes, ponds, springs, ravines, overlooks, glens and forests which eventually helped to designate the Water Gap as a national recreation area of the East Coast.

The ubiquitous footprint of history is adorned in the Water Gap’s countless trails. One such example is the remains of 17th Century Dutch mines and villages from the French and Indian War which stand on its New Jersey side.

The region boomed as a resort town by the beginning of the 20th Century. Today vacationers still venture to the destination for its recreational activities and spectacular sight-seeing.

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Christopher Robinson

No Mere Biosphere

Strangely situated within the otherwise populous state of New Jersey, not far from adjacent cities Philadelphia and New York lies an ecological wilderness known as the Pine Barrens. It features its own unique climate, ecosystem, wildlife and history, not to mention a fabled winged monster- The Jersey Devil.

The remains of the Harrisville Iron Furnace

The dearth of development in Ocean County’s Pinelands stems back to the days of European colonization when the area’s sandy soil was deemed largely unsuitable for growing and farming.

Nevertheless, the Lenni Lenape Indians who inhabited the region long before their arrival used controlled fires in the pursuit of cultivation and hunting, a practice more or less still employed today.

The Penn Branch Trail

Through the years, everything from iron, charcoal, paper, cabinetry, cranberries and blueberries were produced in the Pine Barrens. Some parts are said to have been the site of liquor bootlegging and smuggling by crime organizations. As a result, there remain not only ghost towns in the wake of those previously stated industries but, allegedly, abandoned remains of stills and the graves of victims silenced by Prohibition-era hit men(!)

Other areas feature somber reminders of tragedy. A monument to Emilio Carranza marks an area in the town of Tabernacle where the Mexican aviator was killed while returning to Mexico City from New York.

Memorial of Emilio Carranza

Campgrounds are readily available as are ideal opportunities for hiking, cycling, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, hunting and horseback riding.

While over one million acres of the Jersey Pine Barrens have been designated as a National Reserve and International Biosphere Reserve, conservation continues to be a primary concern as well as that of potential forest fires.

Jersey Devil statue--no one dares tear it down!

Hopefully, the future will see the Pinelands remain the largely pure and undeveloped landscape it has managed to stay thus far. Of course whatever that future brings could be just as cryptic and inscrutable as the Barrens themselves on a quiet, dark and shadowy New Jersey night.

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Christopher Robinson